Jim Peach of Des Plaines took the inside track to a scratch 741.
Peach topped the men’s side of the Section 1 sectional of the 57th Beat the Champions on Sunday at Sunset Bowl in Waukegan.
BTC rookie Caitlin Kelly of Wheeling was the best on the women’s side, rolling a 668 with 226 pins of handicap.
‘‘I just found my line through practice,’’ Peach said. ‘‘The way the lanes broke down worked for me. [The other bowlers] were all throwing polished equipment, and I just played inside of them.’’
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He finished with the high game of 267 but was kicking himself for not doing even better. He opened with seven strikes in a row before leaving an 8-pin.
‘‘I bowled here when I was a kid,’’ said Peach, 46, who works as a senior service technician dealing with bar codes.
For Kelly, a patient-experience coordinator for CVS Health, success came on the mental side.
‘‘Drinking a Blue Moon and trying to relax, be in the moment and enjoy the experience,’’ she said. ‘‘I didn’t come here to win, just to enjoy the experience.’’
She did that. She started slowly but finished with games of 101, 159 and 182 to go with 226 pins of handicap. In BTC, handicap is 90 percent of the difference between a bowler’s average and 210.
‘‘The first game, I was bad at hitting my line,’’ she said. ‘‘The second two games, I was making my mark.’’
The top four men and the top three women advanced to the finals in March. The top prize for both genders is $7,500.
Janet Cook of Skokie, a sales rep for Republic Tobacco, credited her husband, Kerry, for being a good-luck charm. She finished second with a 649.
Catherine Zaworski, a graphic designer from Palatine, grabbed the final women’s spot with a 632.
On the men’s side, David Kadish of Mundelein used home-center advantage to finish second with a 731, including 35 pins of handicap. It was his second time making sectionals but his first time advancing to the finals.
‘‘I kind of know where to start here and made adjustments the second and third games,’’ said Kadish, the director of accounting for Grand Appliance.
Keith Woods of Mundelein, the bar manager at Lakeside Recreation Center, advanced with a 730 that featured a 265 in the final game.
Cody Uidl, an in-home consultant (moving) from Des Plaines, was the final qualifier. He said the key was picking the right ball.
In its first 56 years, BTC — for which the Sun-Times is the media sponsor — has raised $2.856,618.43 for charity.
Follow me on Twitter @BowmanOutside.
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SCORES
Section 1 Sectional
At Sunset Bowl, Waukegan
(Top top four men and top three women, pending verification, advance to finals)
Sunday’s Results
Women
Bowler, center G1-G2-G3-HCP–TOT
Caitlin Kelly, Arlington 101-159-182-226–668
Janet Cook, Classic 177-152-177-143–649
Catherine Zaworski, Arlington 184-171-175-102–632
Sue Clemens, Lakes 167-210-183-64–624
Serena Morris, Arlington 147-173-202-97–619
April Rushford, Lakeside 172-177-168-102–619
Heather Laskov, Lakeside 191-176-151-99–617
Janet Jenkins, Classic 158-155-152-151–616
Lauren Lemanski, Arlington 140-101-125-243–609
Lori Klein-Blazek, Classic 158-134-221-94–607
Debbie Bell, Classic 135-110-122-232–599
Kim Cherry, Beverly 87-147-120-243–597
Kathy Dinan, Sunset 144-101-109-243–597
Mary Carstens, River Rand 160-175-143-116–594
Darlene Velazquez, BZ Mt Prospect 129-152-116-186–593
Cristie Panke, BZ Mt Prospect 196-160-212-21–589
Caryl King, Classic 175-164-158-91–588
Rhonda Buckingham, Sunset 101-126-146-213–586
Doreen Saam, Lakeside 112-172-118-162–564
Tonya Hughes, Beverly 95-103-138-224–560
Valerie Buchanan, Beverly 212-184-136-27–559
Robin Petit, Lakes 123-150-144-113–530
Men
Bowler, center G1-G2-G3-HCP–TOT
Jim Peach, Beverly 227-247-267-0–741
David Kadish, Sunset 211-229-256-35–731
Keith Woods, Lakeside 209-224-265-32–730
Cody Uidl, BZ Mt Prospect 236-289-202-727-0–727
Tony Dussel, Beverly 221-259-215-24–719
Chad Reeves, River Rand 211-198-201-97–707
Daniel Ullenbrauck, Classic 224-247-212-0–683
Curtis Buckingham, Sunset 168-214-235-64–681
Pleas Field, Beverly 199-187-201-91–678
Howard Van Zandt, Classic 195-199-211-72–677
Ricky Hilliard, Classic 191-194-223-64–672
Thomas Stanek, Lakeside 223-213-36-0–672
David Wethington, Arlington 245-211-202-13–671
Bryant Cabrera, Classic 202-259-205-0–666
Gary Evans, Arlington 214-161-243-48–666
Jeff Long, Sunset 168-193-215-83–659
Kris Berge, Lakeside 180-224-204-48–656
Tim Triggs, Lakes 158-199-209-89–655
Mark Gunther Arlington 187-152-202-113–654
Richard Crockett II, Classic 152-171-179-148–650
Ken Johnson, Arlington 214-148-194-86–642
Daniel Aukee, Lakeside 206-182-237-10–635
Chase Kafka, BZ Mt Prospect 167-278-190-0–635
Matt Sowinski Arlington 258-190-181-0–629
Rich Ptak, Beverly 172-227-153-64–616
Ken Griffin, Sunset 167-190-214-40–611
John Flannery, Lakes 214-192-180-24–610
Kent Zimmerman, Lakeside 178-142-149-121–590
Jim Altenbach, Beverly 203-168-137-78–586
Ken Robinson, Sunset 134-204-157-91–586
Wally Papciak, River Rand 194-162-199-29–584
Robert Wozny, Beverly 149-157-146-121–573
DeWitt Sayles, Classic 159-164-160-68–561
Paul Mahanna, Beverly 171-157-145-78–551
Robert Wojnarowski, Lakes 176-144-189-37–546
Rich Nelson, Lakes 171-181-149-0–501
Dale Munn, Sunset Withdrew, injury
Schedule
Sectionals
Saturday: Section 4/Will County, Oak Forest Bowl, men at noon, women at 3 p.m.
Sunday: Section 2 at Elk Grove Bowl, noon . . . Fox Valley, Mardi Gras Lanes, DeKalb, 11 a.m.
Finals
March 4: Women, Classic Bowl, Morton Grove, 11 a.m.
March 11: Men, Waveland Bowl, Chicago, 10 a.m.